Joining the Team
by Lochlyn
Summary: 2 NEW Chapters! A new woman joins the SRU and Team 1. She's hiding a secret. A secret that she has to deal with or it could hurt the team. See how she fits in. This story is going to eventually be a Parker/OFC fic.
1. Chapter 1

Obviously I'm not connected in any way with Flashpoint, and I so don't own anything

Obviously I'm not connected in any way with Flashpoint, and I so don't own anything. I just love the show and can't wait for them to air more episodes.

The first thing Ed Lane noticed while walking through the parking lot, was that she was capable of getting high ranking Commander Norm Holleran to carry her loaded down boxes, filled with what he did not know, out of her Cooper.

Being the man he was, Lane nudged Wordy's back.

"Who's the lady that's got the Commander under her charm?"

Wordy glanced at the lady in question. "Don't know." Wordy paused. "We got about 10 to suit up. Leave it be Ed."

Ed Lane shrugged his shoulders, rearranged his sunglasses and started to walk into the building. The new woman being walked in by Holleran must be someone of perceived importance. He'd find out later. Right now he was due at the close quarters battle house. Jules was up there trying to set targets so that his close entry skills would be somewhat challenged. He never missed, so he was interested in just where Jules would place the 10 targets.

Holleran walked the woman through the doors and up to the main entry desk. He placed his box on the desk and nodded to Lane and Wordsworth, who stood just off to the side. He knew this woman's presence would cause quite a stir.

"Sally, this is Braelyn Grayson. You have an identification pass for her."

Sally looked the woman up and down, briefly. She grabbed the id pass from where it hung next to her and handed it to the Commander. "Hot off the press sir. Came down only moments ago."

The woman looked around Sally's desk. Clearly this Sally was curious about her, but would not say anything further only because of the commander being present. Braelyn noticed that Sally was dressed in an officer's uniform and appeared to be the equivalent of a head secretary.

"Interesting setup you have here Sally," Braelyn commented. "You know, if I were you-" She was about to continue when the commander cut her off rather abruptly.

"Braelyn"

"What? Oh, alright, I'll play nice. It's was a pleasure meeting you Sally. See Normy, that was pleasant right?"

Hollernan chose to ignore her ridiculous nickname and question. Instead he got straight to the point. "You sign in and out here. You wear your pass everyday, all day, and you never leave it in your car."

"Isn't that the point of an identification pass?"

Holleran rolled his eyes, grabbed the box he was carrying before, and started walking.

"See that Sally. It only takes a few seconds to frustrate a highly trained Commander. Wonder what it takes to provoke him? I think I'll go find out."

With that Braelyn sauntered passed Lane and Wordy in order to keep up with the commander.

"That one's trouble" Wordy commented to Ed as they headed for the men's lockeroom.

Norm Holleran was a bit anxious about the woman beside him meeting Sergeant Gregory Parker. More than a bit anxious.

"You'll be reporting to Sergeant Parker."

"Okay," Braelyn said rather distractedly. She was busy looking everything over, and from what Holleran knew of her, she was memorizing her surroundings. Braelyn was so curious about everything.

"He'll be your boss, Braelyn," Holleran tried once again to have the woman's attention directed at him.

"Okay"

"Just…just try and be good, for once."

"Define good?" Braelyn was still not looking at Holleran, but taking in her surroundings.

"At this point, I'll settle for you being respectable to your superiors, Braelyn."

Braelyn smiled and her eyes seemed to sparkle. "Sure thing. Respectable. You got it Commander."

Holleran groaned.

Holleran noticed Sergeant Parker heading in his direction. The Sergeant was in full uniform, sidearm strapped to his leg, clipboard in hand. Holleran knew Sergeant Parker had more questions concerning the woman than he had answered last night, but that would have to wait.

"Sergeant Gregory Parker, this is Braelyn Grayson, your new computer tech."

Parker held out his hand. "It's nice to meet you Miss Grayson." Parker eyed the young woman in front of him. This woman would be joining his team and he was curious as to why she would be assigned to the SRU at all.

Braelyn took her time looking Parker up and down. The lustful look was intended to rattle Parker. "This my new boss-man? He's gorgeous." Braelyn grabbed Parker's hand to shake it.

"Braelyn," Holleran said in a no-nonsense tone.

Braelyn's smile got even wider, all the while never taking her eyes off of Parker. "What? Look at those eyes. A woman could really fall for those eyes alone, but, add that to that smile, the uniform and you've got an extraordinarily gorgeous male specimen."

Parker smiled at the young woman in front of him. "Commander Holleran did say you had a rather explosive personality Miss Grayson"

"Explosive? You meant in the fiery way right Normy, and not the, oh say, dangerous way? Call me Braelyn, Parker."

Holleran let out a sigh. "It's Sergeant Parker, Braelyn"

Parker watched as Braelyn seemed to think this over for a bit.

"Well, he's not my sergeant, Normy."

"It's his title Braelyn, and it is expected."

Braelyn first eyed Parker and then Holleran. "I hold four doctorate degrees. Is it not expected, then, to introduce and address me as Doctor."

Parker chuckled a little. "I believe the term 'explosive' was used in the fiery sense, Braelyn. You can address me as Parker or Sergeant Parker."

"How about gorgeous?"

Holleran sighed again. "Well that's it. I'm going to leave her in your hands sergeant. Discipline. That's what she needs, and I think you two are going to be good for one another." And with that, Holleran passed over his box to Parker, turned and left.

Parker eyed the young woman in front of him. Holleran told him that she was skilled, smart, and had a very sassy mouth on her. He also said that she used her mouth as a way to keep people at a distance until she, herself, felt that they could be trusted. Since she was loaned to the SRU, and would be here for awhile at least, he decided to see just what she could do to improve the way the SRU ran its division. He was about to question her, when she turned and gave him a big, innocent smile.

"Alright Sergeant, looks like I'm all yours." She winked at him. "So take me to my little space of the acclaimed SRU, and I'll show you a few things I can do. Well, professionally speaking, mind you. Wouldn't want you disciplining me on my first day and all. We can leave that for day two, at least."

"Hey Boss," a man said approaching quickly from behind Parker.

"Eddie, this is Braelyn Grayson, the new computer tech. She'll be working exclusively with team one."

"Team one? Exactly how many are there?"

"Many. But we're the best team, Grayson. Ed Lane, team leader, lead sniper".

"The best team huh? So far I've met two out of seven team members, one's gorgeous, one's handsome," she said, indicating Ed. Braelyn thrust out her box and out of instinct, Ed grabbed hold of it. "Well team sergeant and team leader, lead the way. I'm sure the rest of the team will be as aesthetically pleasing as its two head honchos."


	2. Chapter 2

Obviously I'm not connected in any way with Flashpoint, and I so don't own anything

**Thank you for the reviews.**

**CHAPTER 2**

"What's with the woman, boss?"

"She's different, no?"

Both men watched as the woman in question was busy unpacking her stuff from her two boxes. More monitors than what was necessary seemed to come out of the boxes. There were speakers that needed to be hooked up. Laptops appeared and quite a few of them had art work all over it. There was one that was bright pink with a fancy "A" on it. She even pulled out some power tools.

"Seems to be moving in alright," Ed commented. "What's with the secrecy? How long have you known she was going to be joining the team?"

"Since late last night. Commander Holleran informed me that she would be starting immediately. Then, today she showed up."

"She called him 'Normy', boss." Wordy stated.

Ed snorted. "Seems like she's real close to Holleran. He even walked her in today."

Parker had noticed the close familiarity between Holleran and Grayson. He didn't know what to make of it at the moment, so he chose to neutralize the teams' curiosity. "She has a familiar way of talking with everyone she meets. It's her personality. Her file is copasetic Eddie. More than copasetic."

"You and I both know that no matter how great things look on paper, it doesn't necessarily cross over to the real world. Or at least to our real world. Seriously boss, a computer tech? What's up with that? We got Spike."

"And to think that the two higher ups are talking about little ole me," Spike said as he walked in and took a seat in the briefing room. "What juicy details did I miss while seeing to my electronic girl?"

"Glad you could step away from your girlfriend, Spike. How is she running?"

"A bit temperamental today. Wanted her to go right, she got stuck, and now she's turned off waiting for a Spike upgrade. Think I'll have to tune her to make coffee and sandwiches for me."

"Then it'll be the only girlfriend you've had that will make you breakfast Spike," Wordy joked.

"You'll have to wait for later for that. We have a new addition to the team gentlemen and lady," Parker said. He stood at the mantle peering out as his six teammates. He wondered just how they would take to the new computer tech.

"Braelyn Grayson," Parker pointed through the window at the woman who he was about to introduce to his team. "She's a computer tech on loan to us for a year."

"Loan from where?" Ed asked. He wasn't sure what he thought about the new tech.

"That part is unclear, or more likely classified. Spike can do a background on her later. There seems to be gaps in some years she's been working. All I know is that she is here to help make our unit run smoother. Technically that is."

Seven sets of eyes peered at the woman still organizing her space. Seven sets of eyes noticed she was not wearing a police uniform of any kind, but a pair of black and grey pants with a matching vest that hugged her body. The bright purple shirt she wore underneath made her look like she belonged anywhere but the SRU. Seven sets of eyes also noticed that the woman did not carry a sidearm.

"What's her tactical experience Serge?" Sam said.

"None."

"None? How about field experience?" Wordy asked.

"None."

"So she carries no weapon, which likely means that she can't shoot, and now she's part of the team. What are we, the team that babysits civilians?," Jules commented. Parker knew what it meant to her to be the lone female on the team. She was the one that had to learn to shoot as well as her male counterparts. She earned her spot on the team, just like everyone else did.

Parker knew this introduction was going downward fast. "She's a computer tech and is here in an observational capacity only. While she will be in the field with us, she's under my command and will be stationed in the truck at all times."

"What can she do?" Spike asked.

Parker understood that Spike was unsure of his technical role, seeing he was the technical expert on the team.

"Many things honey. Not all of them with a PG rating mind you, but many, many different things," Braelyn said as she leaned against the doorframe.

"I'm all unpacked Sergeant Gorgeous, but I need to drill a few holes in the wall to hang some monitors and well, I could use an extra pair of hands."

Parker smiled at the nickname, saw his opening and took it. "It's Sergeant Parker, and Spike can assist you with that. I want him to look over your programs, so that he can become familiar with them."

Braelyn glanced at Spike, who now looked like a kid in a candy store, and then back at Parker. "No Parker, you want to make sure that I'm as good as my file says, and seeing as Spike is the resident technical whiz, I'd say he wants to snoop." Braelyn looked at Spike. "Honey, you can snoop all you want. I'm really flexible…with all sorts of things"

Spike could do nothing but give Braelyn a goofy smile.

Parker chose this moment to interfere. "Braelyn, perhaps you can tell us a little bit about yourself."

Still standing at the doorframe, Braelyn smiled. "Well, Commander Holleran told me that I can assist your team by scouring the web for information on the bad guys, and being a translator if the need arises. I'm good at that."

"What languages do you speak?" Lewis asked.

"I'm fluent in 11 languages. 12 if you include Latin, but then again I can't see one of your bad guys' mother tongue being a seemingly dead language. I'm pretty adept at translating cuneiform, but since I haven't had the opportunity to develop it as thoroughly as I would like…well, I can't see how that could possibly help you guys in any way. Any other questions?"

"How did you land this job?" Ed asked, his face quite serious.

"I lost a bet." Braelyn said with an equally serious face. She sighed. "I believe that this position was created for me. Who knows the whys of your department", she shrugged her shoulders. "I was ordered here. Normy informed me that I am to be here for about a year, or until Sergeant Parker thinks I'm no longer useful. I'm not here to step on anyone's toes, although the idea is quite tempting. I'm here to help."

"What makes you qualified to help the members of the SRU?" Ed asked.

"Eddie –" Parker started. He knew Ed would be the one to ask the question that was on everyone's minds, his included.

"No Sergeant, he's right." Braelyn's voice changed. She took a step into the room. "I know I can't help you shoot people, as I don't like guns. I know I can't help you with basically anything tactical, because I have no experience or training in that area; nor do I want any. What I do know is that I can find you the fastest, and safest way into buildings, underground factories, or wherever else bad guys take hostages. I know I can be right there when you need to know which way to go when you're blinded in a darkened space. I can find any information you might require to neutralize a situation."

"Big deal. Sally can do all of that, from right here. What makes you different?"

Just then the loud speaker went off "Team One we have a hostage situation…"


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for the reviews.

**Chapter 3**

While navigating the SUV through the streets of Toronto, Ed glanced quickly at Parker sitting in passenger seat of the SUV. Parker had his clipboard in hand and Ed could tell that he was already forming a plan to best handle the situation. That's why Parker was head negotiator. He was always thinking. Ed never had any reason to jump the ranks higher than what he currently was. He liked being a sniper, and never wanted to be a sergeant. Since he rarely censored his thoughts around Parker, Ed just came out and said, "She's trouble, boss."

Parker stopped whatever was going through his head at the moment, looked at Ed and said with a brief smile and curt nod, "I know." As soon as he said it, Parker heard a feminine voice laugh in his earpiece. Communication with the whole team was on, and it appeared that Braelyn, along with everyone else, had heard the conversation so far, all the while sitting in the SUV that was currently following them.

"Well of course I'm trouble Mr. Lane. However, that is neither here nor there, and this is certainly not the opportunity to discuss such an interesting topic as what you brought up."

Parker could just imagine what Braelyn looked like sitting in the back of one of the SUV's with Wordy driving and Spike opting not to sit in the passenger seat but next to the newest member of the SRU. Parker knew how badly Spike wanted to scope out her system. Wordy was not sure what to make of the sassy mouthed woman sitting directly behind him. He would just have to wait and see what she could do. Spike, however, liked her instantly. They shared a similar personality.

"Sugar, we'll talk about how I think you're trouble later. Right now we need to concentrate on the situation. Boss?" Ed said, looking expectedly at Parker.

"We have a domestic situation that got out of hand. Calls came in informing us of two hostages. One was being leaned over the balcony screaming before our guy pushed her over. He forced the other one back into the apartment at gunpoint."

"How high?" Jules asked.

"Ninth floor. The street has already been blocked off. There are two exits: the main door, and the balcony. Building is 15 stories high. Ed and Jules will be Sierra 1 and 2, Wordy close entry, Lou less lethal, and I shall negotiate."

"And who's going to transcribe?" Ed asked

"I believe that will be my job handsome. I've read the manual. I can get the job done." Braelyn's tone was serious.

"Believing and doing are two entirely different things, sugar. You okay with this boss?"

"Sam can transcribe. Braelyn, I want you to observe today. The team is not going to use any of your programs."

"Sounds boring, but you're the boss-mass. I guess I'm stuck in…observational capacity mode only huh? Whatever you want Sergeant," was the tight response.

Parker could hear the sarcasm dripping in her words, but what caught him the most was her choice of words. Had she heard them talking in the briefing room. She couldn't have, but there was something in the way she had said 'observational capacity' that didn't sit right with him. "Did you bug the briefing room Braelyn?"

Ed's head snapped quickly to the right, glaring at Parker and Parker knew that he would see the bugging and listing in of conversations that, while it was about her, was supposed to be private. Parker held up his hand to let Ed know that everything would be okay. He knew that Ed would see Braelyn's act as a direct attack against the team's trust system. The obvious question was why would she feel the need to be listening in?

"Of course not Sergeant. Pretty sure that would be illegal, and, well, hugely encroaching upon one's ability to talk privately, but I can hook it up no problem if the need arises," was Braelyn's response.

Parker could tell by her voice that she was not lying, or at least she believed that she was telling what to her would be considered to be the truth.

"That won't be necessary Braelyn. I was just curious as to your word choice."

"Well duh, Gorgeous, I just used your words." Braelyn sighed. "I'm quite adept at lip-reading. Geez, wasn't that in my file. What exactly did they put in there?"

"How accurately?" Spike questioned, referring to Braelyn's ability to lip-read.

"Not as accurately as I would like, but I'm learning. Body language, speech impediments, accents, and generally people who do not annunciate their words, really stilt my ability to read lips. Thank goodness Sergeant Gorgeous' words are smooth to read. Plus I get to stare at his lips. Another bonus."

Parker allowed his eyes to widen ever so slightly, knowing that Braelyn could not see him. Ed glanced at him and shrugged his shoulders, all the while shaking his head.

"I repeat – she's trouble," Ed said chuckling.

"Define trouble Ed," Spike said.

There was, of course, no time as the team arrived at the location.

All got out of the car.

"Let's keep the peace guys," Parker said.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you very much for all the reviews. They really help me with wanting to write more. **

**Chapter 4**

The negotiation was going smoothly. Well, as smooth as Braelyn thought it ought to be. She liked Sergeant Greg Parker. He was brilliant at finding the connection with the subjects, and it seemed that the situation was moving from red to yellow at a rapid pace.

Braelyn looked herself over. She was wearing a government issued bulletproof vest. What she needed a bulletproof vest for while sitting in a truck was beyond her, but she played nice with Wordy when he handed her the vest and nudged, zipped, clipped, or did whatever else he had to do to her to get the darn thing on. Now she was sitting in a chair taking in her surroundings. She was sitting in a new place that contained all sorts of toys to play with, and then was told not to touch anything by the man of the hour - Sam. Blond, blue eyed – what was not to like? He certainly peaked her interest. Braelyn thought she caught him looking at Jules. That would be an interesting couple. Jules would dominate, and Sam would submit. Braelyn wanted desperately to get her hands on the employee manual to see if the SRU allowed dating within a team. In Braelyn's mind, the fun one could have within the SRU seemed endless. Well, except for Wordy and Lane. Those two were married and even Braelyn wouldn't go down that route. Right now, however, there was no fun to be had.

Braelyn glanced at her companion. She was doing what she was told and was 'observing' Sam as he recorded all that was happening. Braelyn flipped open her trusty pink laptop and punched in a few things. Windows stared to pop open, and she had a view of the building across the street. Braelyn knew Jules and Ed were on the rooftop of the 15 story building, directly across from the one the hostage was in. Jules was sierra 2, so she was watching through her binoculars, or at least that's what Braelyn thought was supposed to be happening. What Braelyn didn't like were the two heat signatures bouncing off her satellite uplink. It seemed that two people were moving up one of the stairwells. The stairwells were supposed to be secured and on lockdown. The same went with the elevators.

"Sam, do uniforms usually go up the stairwell after you guys set up?"

Sam swerved in his chair to look at her. "No, why? What are you doing on that computer? You're supposed to be observing me."

"Darling, with my overly functional female brain, I can do both." Braelyn showed him her computer screen and Sam snapped into action.

"How accurate is this…thing?" Sam pointed and gestured with his hands.

"Program, darling, and very accurate. I have been approved for satellite uplink. What you see here, is what you have out there."

Sam's face tensed for a few seconds. "Sergeant, there seems to be movement in the stairwell of the building where sierra 1 and 2 are."

"Copy that Sam. What kind of movement?"

"Possible breach in the stairwell, sir."

"How many?"

Sam glanced at Braelyn. She held up two fingers.

"Two, sir, and they're moving. Braelyn what floor are they at?" Sam asked while fiddling with something in the truck Braelyn was unfamiliar with.

"One's holding on the 10th floor, the other is moving just past the 11th floor."

"Sierra 1, what's your status?" Parker asked.

"Sierra 1, I have the solution."

"Copy that sierra 1. Change of plans. Sierra 2, be prepared for a possible breach heading your way. I'm blind down here Jules, so it's going to be your call."

"Sierra 2, copy that."

"Ed watch her back"

"Copy that boss"

"Sam, get uniforms up there now," Parker demanded.

"Already on it boss."

"Um guys, one's on the 15th floor and holding. The other is starting to move again".

Braelyn's could have sworn her heart stopped beating when she heard the shot through her earpiece. The shot was followed by loud panting.

"Team status. Team status." Even though his heart was racing, Parker's voice came over the channel calm and clear. Another shot was heard. "Team status now."

"My vest's…been…hit Sarge" came Jules' raspy voice.

"Eddie?"

"I'm on it boss. I got one unidentified male down."

There was a pause in communication for about 4 seconds, and for those 4 seconds, Braelyn held her breath.

"No harm boss. Her vest took the impact."

Braelyn checked her monitor again. "Ed, the other one is heading your way, in 3…2…1…."

This time Braelyn waited a full 30 seconds before Ed's voice could be heard again. "I got him boss. He's secured. Send uniforms to sweep the stairwells, hallways, elevators, and anywhere else! He had a sniper riffle on him boss. What the hell is going on!"

"Copy that sierra 1. Braelyn I need you to call base and get team-"

"Already on it Gorgeous. Base has been notified, team 3 will be here is 10 minutes and Sam already sent uniforms which are heading to sierra 1's position as we speak. They should be there within 40 seconds Lane."

Parker continued negotiation with the man holding the young woman at gunpoint. As of right now, he had lost both snipers, eliminating the lethal solution.

"What's going on? Who…who are you talking to?!" the subject demanded.

"You know, I'd really like it if we could work things out so the young lady can go home to her family." Parker was forcing his nerves back down. He would not allow himself to become rattled, but something didn't feel right. He turned his head slightly so that Sam could hear him.

"Sam, have we found out who the hostage is?"

"Yeah…she's wearing a wig, but Sally came back with a Jennifer Rene. She's got no record, but does have a court order against a Layton Walker. Running his image now."

Braelyn watched as Sam used the computer to locate this piece of information.

"ID is a positive match boss. The subject is Layton Walker. Stalked a then Jennifer Wendal for two years before the court order was put into play. She was married a few months after the court order was in place. The apartment is rented to a Cameron Stone though. She's the first victim who went over the balcony."

"Thanks Sam. Call Luria."

"You got it boss." Throughout his conversation with Parker, Sam could hear fingernails hitting a keyboard. Curiosity got the better of him. "What do you have Braelyn?"

"The two men who attacked Lane and Jules are Frank Rene and Paul Rene, Jennifer's husband and brother-in-law. Looks like Paul Rene has an apartment on the fourth floor of the building Ed and Jules were on. Don't look at me like that – Parker clearly said that 'the team' would not be using my programs, he never said I couldn't, and my program if a lot faster then whatever you are using to identify the bad guys."

"Subjects. You pull the images off a satellite uplink?"

"Yes."

"Your clearance has to be pretty high to get that kind of access."

"Does it? Hmm." Braelyn didn't even glance at him, she was to busy typing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Parker sighed as the SIU walked Ed to a police car. It never failed. The SIU were like vultures, waiting for fresh meat to arrive. Both Jules and Ed would both be interrogated for the shooting that happened on top of the building. At least Parker was able to get Jennifer Rene to safety. It turned out that her husband thought she was cheating on him with Cameron Stone, who he thought was a male friend. That the Rene brothers chose to kill Jennifer on the day that she was taken hostage by her former stalker was just unlucky coincidence. Parker would look at the transcripts later. Right now he had to join Ed and Jules in the cop car.

An hour later Parker was signing the official transcripts, placing them back in a folder when Dr. Luria arrived.

"Hey Doc, how's it going?" Parker said with a smile.

"Isn't that supposed to be my question?"

"But I asked it first." Pause. "You spoke with Eddie yet?"

"Yes."

"Should I be worried?"

"You always worry about your team Greg. That's what makes you a good leader. Speaking of team, I understand that there is a new addition?"

"Braelyn Grayson. You read her file?"

"I have and I can't wait to meet her."

"Turn around, she's the one over there with the drill in her hand."

Luria looked over to where Braelyn and Spike were working. Spike had forgone his shirt and was wearing the department issued SRU black t-shirt. Braelyn was kneeling on her desk, drilling. While Braelyn was drilling, Spike was busy fiddling with a laptop. Braelyn held her hand out, and when Spike didn't hand her whatever it was she wanted, Braelyn grabbed his chin and angled his face to hers. Words were exchanged and Spike held up his hands, admitting defeat, before grabbing and passing a monitor to Braelyn. She plopped it in the position she wanted and held out her hand expectedly for Spike to help her off the desk. Spike, of course did.

"Spike seems to like her."

"Not really surprising. Spike likes most women. This one…well, this one is…I think I'll let you meet her and see for yourself. Braelyn, when you have a moment." Parker indicated that he wanted her to meet Dr. Luria.

"Braelyn Grayson, this is Dr. Amanda Luria. She's a forensic psychologist who works with the SRU."

"It's nice to meet you Braelyn."

Braelyn looked Luria up and down. She then glanced at Parker. "Seriously, Gorgeous? A forensic psychologist?"

Parker kept his face neutral and nodded. Luria's eyes opened a little.

"Hmm. Never met a forensic psychologist before. You like your job Doctor?"

Luria looked from Braelyn to Parker, and then back to Braelyn again.

"It interests me, yes."

"Interests you like you think you can make a significant dent in the subject area, or interests you as your curious about what really makes people take a swan dive off the deep end?"

Luria laughed. She liked Braelyn's quick mind. "Both. And do you like your job, Braelyn?"

"What's not to like? Have you seen my new boss?" Braelyn asked, pointing at Parker. "Isn't he simply gorgeous?"

Parker couldn't help the twitch that claimed his lips.

"You're good at avoiding answering the question Braelyn," Luria responded.

"I am? Thanks. It's a highly developed skill I've maintained." Braelyn was all smiles.

"Why did you need this skill in the first place?" Luria asked.

"That's what psychologists do best, isn't it? They nitpick at word choice. Guess I'll have to think before I speak around you doc, and I hate very much doing that." Braelyn glanced at Parker. "Anything else you need Sergeant?"

Parker shook his head. "No Braelyn. You can go back to Spike before he takes over your computers."

"One more question Braelyn," Luria asked.

"I'll bite."

"What do you think of psychologists?"

"Think she can handle to truth, Gorgeous?"

"Parker, and yes, I think she can."

"I think they're highly useful. That and they are capable of being the best liars out there as well."

"Liars? Why do you think that?"

"Uh-uh Doctor. I answered your 'one more question'. Why don't you think on my answer and let me know what you come up with? Bye Gorgeous." And with that Braelyn walked back to Spike.

Parker looked Luria over. "Well?"

"She certainly likes you…Gorgeous."

Parker allowed a full smile to cross his lips. _If only that were true_, he thought. "Are you suggesting that I'm not gorgeous doc?"

"I'm suggesting, Greg, that Braelyn likes to purposely use her words to put catch people off guard. It makes her feel in control." Luria took a few seconds to decide if she wanted to continue. "She's hiding something."

"Yeah. I got that feeling too." Parker looked over at Braelyn. Spike must have said something funny because she was laughing.


	6. Chapter 6

_A short chapter, but a fun one to write. It started out all fun and games, and then got serious at the end. It's funny how writing this story just sort of happens like that. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews. It's totally childish, but I LOVE getting them. _

**Chapter 6**

Braelyn literally almost walked into Ed as he was heading home.

"Grayson," Ed acknowledged.

"Handsome," Braelyn acknowledged back. "So…It looks like I helped save your handsome ass out there Lane."

Ed pursed his lips together and nodded his head. "Looks like, sugar, but that could have been a fluke. I mean, did my ass really need saving by you?" Ed knew he should acknowledge what she did for him and Jules, but it was more fun sparring mentally with her than it was to say thanks.

"A fluke? Really. That's the best you got?"

"You think it was something else?" Ed crossed his arms and leaned against the wall for support. "Enlighten me."

Braelyn just loved Ed's tough guy approach. "Well, I would have gone with 'Thank you, oh sexy Grayson', oh – because you're married, it should have been like, 'Thank you, oh devastatingly delicious –' "

"You two at it again?" Parker remarked as he and Spike walked up to Ed and Braelyn. "Hey Spike is there a pool going on for these two yet?"

"Not yet boss. But wouldn't that be interesting! What odds boss?"

"Hello Gorgeous. Watch that beautiful mouth of yours Honey. Besides, you're just in time to hear Mr. Handsome thank me for saving his life".

Ed couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. He decided right there to give Braelyn a chance. She could prove her worth to him and to the team. "She's delusional boss. Better write her up, or better yet, send her to Luria," Ed said as he winked at Braelyn.

"Delusional? Nope. Sorry. Not in my vocab." Braelyn said as she turned and took two steps away from the men. "Sexy, smart, kick-ass, vital, perfect, curvaceous…you can use any of those words Eddie. Help me out Gorgeous. Use those negotiating skills to facilitate a peaceful solution between me and Lane."

"My skills are not intended for senseless squabbles of this magnitude," joked Parker.

"Fine, be the voice of reason. Tell you what! Spike can walk me to my car, and the two of you can watch my phenomenally perfect ass sway as I walk away." With that Braelyn grabbed Spike, rounded the corner and was gone.

Parker couldn't help but smile at the retreating form of one Miss. Braelyn Grayson. As usual when a woman, and a confident one at that, said something about her ass, a man's eyes tended to glance in that direction. _She's does have a phenomenal ass, _thought Parker. He had to stop thinking that, so instead he shook his head. That woman really was one of a kind. Parker glanced at Eddie. "You okay Ed."

"Sure boss." Pause. "It shouldn't have happened like that."

"I know."

"Secure means secure, right? Someone didn't lock down like they were supposed to, and now Jules has a bruise larger than my fist on her chest."

"You're right. It shouldn't have happened. But it did. Jules is tough. She'll heal."

"She shouldn't have to"

"That's what this job is like, Ed. You know that, and so does Jules." Parker paused. "Go talk to her Ed."

"Yeah, I think I'll do that boss. Later."

Parker watched Ed as he went to find Jules. Ed would be alright after he relieved some of his guilt of not being able to stop Jules from taking a shot. Now all Parker had to do was find out what Braelyn was hiding. He sighed. It was time to go home. Alone. Again.


	7. Chapter 7

**I've decided that Parker needs a woman, and since I obviously can't have him (insert unhappy face here), I think he should get Braelyn. I think she would be good for him. He's so lonely and, well, a little sissy around women, so he needs a strong one. It's going to take a while for the relationship to head in that direction, but I'll be trying to point it there. Of course with the way I write, she still might end up with Spike, so you never know. **

**Chapter 7**

As Parker was walking through the SRU, coffee in hand, he glanced at his watch. It was early, and like always, Parker always came in an hour before he was supposed to be at work. It was always this way with him. He'd wake up and all he could think about was work and his team. Parker knew it would be an hour before Braelyn would show up. She would probably come in a few minutes early, but in order to talk to her, Parker would just have to be patient and wait.

He took a sip of his coffee as he passed by Braelyn's desk. Like he thought, Spike had come in moments before him and was busy playing on her computer. Spike was so eager to see what was on it, that, as usual, his uniform was a complete disaster. Spike never liked to suit up properly, but today Parker noticed that his uniform was buttoned incorrectly.

When he got close enough to see what Spike was actually doing, he noticed that there were three keyboards. One black one, one neutral colour, and one that was split down the middle. Computer or computers, Parker wasn't sure how many there were, or what was hooked up to what.

He took another sip of his coffee. Spike didn't even seem to notice that Parker was looming over him.

"Morning Spike."

"I'll button up Sarge. Give me a minute."

Parker scrunched his eyebrows together. Spike was a lost cause. Totally, and irrevocably lost to a computer.

"So, Eddie says that you're dressing up as a woman this Halloween." Parker waited for a response.

Sure enough, Spike processed what Parker had said and his response was quick. "No, you got it wrong boss. He's going to be the woman – the cougar to be exact. I'm going to be the young, handsome stud!"

Parker chuckled. "Spike, I need that background check on Braelyn done."

Spike tore his eyes away from the screen. He had a pained expression on his face. "No boss, I can't do that."

Parker studied Spike for a few seconds. It was not unlike him to rebel to certain things, but Spike never disobeyed a direct order.

Spike held up his hands quickly. "It's not what you think boss. It's just…have you seen these programs?" Spike indicated to the computer. The smile reappeared on his face.

Parker put his coffee down and leaned on the desk as Spike began hitting random keys. Parker had some idea of what the programs were, but Spike kept opening so many windows that he was quickly becoming lost.

Spike stopped typing and pointed to a window that looked like codes of some kind. "They're far more advanced then I thought they could be. I mean, if it was my sole job to replicate these programs, it would take me a few years to come up with them. Anyone who can do this…well, any information out there that would not be seen as favourable could simply be erased. Also, anything that she would want seen could easily be set up in its place. Do you get it now?"

"So you're telling me that any information floating out there can, and probably was, manipulated to whatever Braelyn wanted?"

Spike nodded his head.

"You did good Spike. Just give me a run down on her programs later okay?"

"I could give you that rub down now Gorgeous!" Braelyn said as she poked her head in between Parker and Spike. Both of them jumped for a mere second.

Spike laughed. "He said 'run down' Braelyn!" Spike continued to laugh when he saw the look on Parker's face. Parker was caught between wanting to shake his head, and wanting to laugh.

"Of course he did, Honey, but my idea is soooo much better. Don't you think Sergeant?"

"I think we need to set some ground rules, cupcake. Since you came in early, there are a few things I'd like to discuss with you. Be in my office in 5 minutes," Parker said as he headed to his office to gather his thoughts.

Braelyn looked down at Spike. "Cupcake? Really? Of all the names out there, Sergeant Gorgeous comes up with Cupcake?"

"Perhaps the boss doesn't like being called Gorgeous, Braelyn."

"Too bad, I like it. Is that coffee?"

"It's Parker's"

Braelyn picked it up and threw it in the garbage. It still had warm coffee in it. "What? Coffee around my babies is a no-no."

"Perhaps you like tea better?" Spike teased.

"I do, thanks. One sugar, three creams. Now scoot over and take your grubby paws off my baby!"

"Aw come on…I came in early for this chance. You know I'm just going to come straight back here as soon as you're in Parker's office right?"

Braelyn took out a USB from her pocket. She plopped it in place. She leaned in so that her face was two inches from Spike's. "Dare you to snoop now Honey." With that, Braelyn got up and headed for Parker's office. She knew Spike would not snoop with the possibility of a virus being in place.

Parker watched the interaction between Spike and Braelyn. When she got to the door of his office he became curious. "What was on the USB Braelyn?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Norm said that all of you needed access to my computer at all times. Give me a break, I'm not that destructive. I wouldn't ruin perfectly good equipment just to prove I was better than Spike! Well…I might be better than him. I'm not really sure. He's got some major tech skills. The things he does with his bomb stopper thingy – whatever that thing is called – is awesome."

Parker knew that he was good at his job. Being good at his job meant that he had to be good at reading people. He also had to have good intuition. All day yesterday he watched Braelyn. He watched her when she was walking around the office, when she was interacting with the team, and when she was simply on her own, setting her stuff up. He noticed many things, and some of these things bothered him. "Sit down, Braelyn," he said indicating to a chair.

Braelyn took one look at Parker's serious face and decided to play along. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Dr. Luria mentioned that you haven't been to see her yet."

"Doesn't surprise me. I haven't."

"It's a requirement of the SRU Braelyn. We debrief with the psychologist after every field operation."

"But I'm not a member of the SRU. See, no goofy uniform here. You know, gray does absolutely nothing for your skin tone Gorgeous. Now a nice blue, that would bring out the sparkle in your eyes."

Parker knew that Braelyn liked to flirt. It was a way to avoid answering questions and redirecting the attention onto something, or someone else. Parker smiled and walked around his desk so that he was standing right beside a seated Braelyn.

"Blue huh?"

"Sure. I never understood that. If all of you are police, why are some uniforms blue, while others are grey?"

"Here's what I know Braelyn." With that Parker unhooked his gun from his side, and placed it on the desk in front of Braelyn.

Braelyn stood up so fast that the chair fell backwards.

"Care to pick up the gun Braelyn?"


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you so much for the very sweet reviews. You guys make me want to keep writing.

**Chapter 8**

Braelyn stared at the gun that lay motionless on Parker's desk. It was only about three feet from her. "This isn't funny anymore." Braelyn took two steps to the left so that she was farther away from the gun.

"It's not intended to be funny."

Braelyn just glared at Parker. "How did you figure it out so fast, Sergeant?"

Parker sat beside his gun, lying on the desk. "You always walk on the left side of my team so that you're the farthest away from a gun. Unless of course you walk with Sam. You figured out quite quickly that he's left-handed." Parker studied her. Her body was very rigid. He did not intend to make her feel uncomfortable, but he wanted to know what she was hiding, because he didn't want it affecting the team. Parker picked up his gun, and with his left hand, slid the cartridge he had hidden in a pocket, back in place. He then put it back into his holster.

Whether she realized it or not, Braelyn let out the breath she had been holding in. "It wasn't loaded?" she whispered.

"One was in the chamber, Braelyn." Parker moved to pick up the chair and was surprised when Braelyn grabbed the other side. Together they straightened out the chair so that it was right side up.

"Not afraid of me anymore?"

"I was never afraid of you Parker."

"No. You're right. You're not afraid of me, or the team, just of our guns."

"I'm not afraid of guns!" Braelyn said with more force then what was really necessary. It was obvious she was lying. "You spooked me with your request. Pass me your gun, I'll hold it now."

Parker knew she was lying. Although her right hand was extended to receive Parker's gun, it was shaking ever so slightly. Parker pointed to her hand. "Your hand is shaking."

Braelyn looked down at it and quickly fisted it and placed it near her body.

"Yesterday, after you came out from the truck with Sam, I saw you fist your hands together to keep them from shaking."

"You seem to see a lot of things, Gorgeous."

Parker was glad for the nickname. It meant that he was getting somewhere with Braelyn. She was back to trusting him – maybe even enough to open up.

"I do see a lot of things. It helps me be a better negotiator."

"There's nothing to negotiate here. Maybe I just don't like tight spaces."

"This job - this team - is built on trust, Braelyn. I need to know that I can trust my team. Right now you're lying to protect yourself. I need to know what ever it is you're hiding because what ever it is, it's affecting my team. So let's agree that we won't lie to each other."

Braelyn sat back down in the chair. "This little intervention of yours would go a lot faster if you would just let me see my file…please."

Parker grabbed a chair off the left of him and sat facing Braelyn. What ever it was that was worrying her, was definitely not in the file. Parker read and reread her file. "What's in your file is not important right now."

"Actually it is." Braelyn paused and pinched the bridge of her nose before continuing. "You know that I can just find it by typing in a few choice words into my computer right?"

"And you would do that?"

Braelyn chose not to answer but stare at Parker. When it became clear that she wasn't going to answer, Parker continued. "What do you think is in your file?"

"This and that. What do you think is in yours?" Braelyn was beginning to get annoyed.

"I want to help you Braelyn. But first you are going to have to discuss what it is that you are trying to hide."

"I'd say that if you don't know what it is that I am trying to hide, than I'm doing a good job at hiding it, no?"

Parker just stared at her. He had a hunch, and while this was not in her file, Spike did say that Braelyn had the ability to change what ever she wanted and didn't want known about her. "How old were you Braelyn? How old were you when you were taken hostage?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for the reviews. You guys are the sweetest people ever! Just to let you know that I probably won't be updating until after Halloween. So have a Happy Halloween everybody!!**

**Chapter 9**

Parker was good, she'd give him that. It took him less than a day to figure out what she managed to hide from most people. In fact no one figured it out unless Braelyn wanted them too.

"Which time Gorgeous?"

"You were a hostage female more than once?" Parker was surprised. He hadn't thought there would be more than once incidence. No wonder she didn't like guns.

"You wanted me to be honest right?"

"I'd like that very much."

"You think me being held hostage will affect the team?"

"I need to know that you won't freeze up when presented with a hostage situation."

Braelyn nodded her head. "The first time, I was 10. I was playing hide and seek with some kids in a hotel my parents and I were staying in. There were about 5 of us playing the game, so I knew I had to hide someplace good. There was a wedding going on and there were all sorts of kitchen carts covered in thick white sheets. I hid in one of them. The kitchen was empty. Not long after two people came in and started to argue. Apparently one guy was banging the other one's wife. There was a loud bang and then blood splattered on the sheet. The dead guy's hand came up under the sheet and there was a gun attached to it. I stared at it for a few seconds before I picked it up and waited. As soon as I picked up the gun, the guy's body was dragged away from the kitchen cart. I guess the shooter wanted the guy's gun, so he ripped the sheet off of the cart. He saw me and went reaching for his gun that he had to put down in order to move the body of the guy he shot. I pointed the gun somewhere at his chest and pulled the trigger. He went down. I kept pulling the trigger until there was nothing but clicks. The cops came 10 minutes later."

"And the second time?" Parker said. He was watching Braelyn closely. She was talking about the incident as if it were a textbook case. No emotional attachment was given. It was as if Braelyn was talking about something that happened to someone else.

"The second time, I was 16. I had just got my licence and was filling up with gas for the first time. Some lunatic decided that I was an easy target when he held up the gas station. Fortunately someone called the cops and this time there was a negotiator. He tried to talk him down, but he didn't know that there was a gas station employee trying to be a hero. The bad guy became a loose cannon and shot the gas station employee before turning his gun back on me. He shoved another gun into my hand and told me to shoot the negotiator, or he would pull the trigger on the gun that was pointed at my temple. The negotiator told me it would be okay, and to remain calm. As I raised the gun so that it was pointing at the negotiator, a bullet hit the bad guy holding me and he went down. The noise spooked me and I accidently pulled the trigger on my gun and the negotiator went down. I dropped the gun and tried to run to him. Two really big guys grabbed me and forced me to the ground. The negotiator was okay though. His vest caught the bullet."

"Norm Holleran."

"Yup. I shot Normy that day, and ever since he's been a pain my ass. Always making me do things I don't necessarily like."

"I can't have someone who is afraid of guns on the team."

"I know. That's what I told Normy. Tell you what. I'll make this real easy. Just tell Normy that I tried to seduce you or something, or that I won't fit in with your team. Give me about an hour with Spike so that I can get him to become familiar with my programs. The laptops are mine, so they go with me, but everything else is yours. You know, I think I would have liked working with this team." With that Braelyn got up to go.

"I'm not firing you Braelyn, but I have to – "

"I know Sergeant Parker. You just can't trust me around your team so you have to let me go. I get it. I really do."

Parker held out his hand as a peace offering. Braelyn grabbed it. "You know, you really do have the most incredible eyes, Gorgeous."

Parker smiled as he watched Braelyn saunter out of the room. She would have made an invaluable team member, but he just couldn't trust her.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"What do mean she's not coming back? I thought she went to get tea," Spike said.

Parker knew that Spike would take it the hardest. He genuinely liked Braelyn and they seemed to click almost instantaneously. Spike looked a little sad, like he just lost his best friend.

"It just wasn't going to work out. Braelyn and I discussed her working here and reached a mutual agreement. She said she would stop by now and then to run some new programs by you Spike." Parker paused. Braelyn had been with them only 1 day, but it seemed that everyone, including Jules, was going to miss her. "Suit up guys and lady; we have drills to run today, short of any incoming calls."

An hour into drills and the voice came over the loud speakers. "Team 1, we have a call."

Parker's head snapped up. He had been the first one to finish drills, so he'd been looking over Braelyn's file again. He would have to talk with Holleran later, but right now he had to work. "Time to saddle up, team 1. Looks like we got a call. Let's suit up as quickly as possible."

When team 1 was on route, Parker relayed to the team what he knew of the situation. "Our guy took over a grocery store. There are 13 hostages, 4 of which are children. Our guy has already shot 1 hostage female and is threatening to shoot the others."

"13 hostages sir, that's heavy on civilians," Sam's voice sounded concerned.

"That's right Sam. We need to tread carefully here guys. Spike you getting the information yet?"

"Yeah, these new programs are really useful. I've got an uplink and am viewing the store now. The cameras give only picture and no audio. I'll see what I can do but I'm not promising anything."

"Copy that Spike."

When they got out of the SUV's and were putting their vests on, Parker's cell phone rang. "Parker here, go."

Parker heard muffled voices.

"…there's mad cops out there Major…what do you mean you can see them...you're where? Hello? Hello?"

Parker glanced quickly at the phone number that came up. He didn't recognize it. "Spike, I need a trace on this phone number. I think we have ears into the store." If his suspicion was right, then 'third time would be a charm'.

Spike typed in the phone number and his mouth hung open. "We have more than ears in there boss. Braelyn's in there. She's one of the hostages."

"Listen up. Braelyn is one of the hostages. She's using her phone to give us ears. Spike, I want you as my secondary. Gather whatever information you can off of Braelyn's cell."

"On it boss," Spike was already running toward the truck.

"She must be scared," Sam commented.

"I doubt it. This is the 3rd time she's been taken hostage."

"Third time, boss? Talk about unlucky boss."

"Third time Wordy. Let's hope her luck holds."

"Will she remain calm?" Jules asked.

"We have 12 other hostages to worry about as well Jules. Braelyn's read the manual. What she does with it, I'm not sure. She knows what we are trying to do, so let's go keep the peace, guys."

With Sierra 1 and 2 in position, Parker attempted to make contact with the subject.

"This is Sergeant Greg Parker. I'm with the Police Strategic Response Unit. Who am I talking to?"

"Braelyn Grayson."

In the truck with Parker glanced quickly at Spike and Sam.

"Okay Braelyn we can hear you through your cell. I need a name. Is everyone alright?"

"No. A mother has been shot. He says he'll shoot another one of us if a cop gets within 50 feet of the store."

"Hang up the phone and get that kid to stop crying!" the subject yelled at Braelyn and the baby that was on the floor crying. Braelyn did as she was told.

"I've hung up. Okay Honey," Braelyn said as she picked up the crying baby, "you've got to stop crying. You sound like a distorted recording, Honey."

Spike could hear Braelyn over the baby's crying, but barely. Then Braelyn started to sing – in Italian.

"Record what she's saying Spike!" Parker's authoritative voice rang out. "I want a translator now!"

Exactly 3 minutes later, the translator read what Braelyn was singing. "Someone watching you. Your guy talking to someone outside. Name Major Lee. Guy carrying 1 gun. Gang initiation." The translator stopped. "She repeats it 3 times. That's it."

"Thanks buddy." Greg dismisses the translator. "This is an initiation gone wrong. Spike, tell dispatch to sweep the area for known gang members."

"They'd be long gone by now boss," Lou said.

"I know, but it's worth a shot. Sam, what do we know so far?"

"The subject is armed with one weapon. Hand held, easy to conceal. Still working on figuring out what he's carrying. Subject is…" Sam broke off, at a loss. He was still learning.

Parker picked up for him. "Whatever he thought he was going to do today, didn't happen. His simple initiation turned out wrong and he is rapidly deteriorating. He's made his first request, but not directly with the cops. He doesn't trust us and is likely in tunnel vision. Lou – how's that name coming? And when is Luria getting here?"

"Sally's running the image now. Luria's on her way boss. No ETA yet."

"We need to get the lines moved back another 20 or so feet. Wordy, Lou, make that happen. Sierra 1?

"Sierra 1, go ahead" Ed's voice came in clear.

"How's the view Eddie?"

"No solution, boss. I'm blind to our guy. I do see 5 hostages, kneeling with their hands on their head. Over.

"Copy that sierra 1. Sierra 2, how's the view?"

"No solution boss, but I do see Braelyn."

"Change of plans guys. Ed I want you on a determined action plan. You can have Jules and Sam."

Parker was just about to call the grocery store again, when Braelyn started to talk again.

"You know what Honey? To think I left my favourite laptop in my trunk out in the parking lot today. I hope it doesn't get stolen. You'd have to be a dumbass to steal my laptop. That's right, baby girl, I said dumbass. Want me to say it again?"

"Spike –"

"Lou knows what her car looks like and he's already out there."

"Wordy cover Lou. Lou, get her laptop."

"On it boss".


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Password encrypted. Great," Spike observed.

Parker thought for a moment. "Try 'dumbass', Spike."

Parker had to wait a few seconds before Spike said, "I think I'm in love."

Parker's lips turned upward into a grin. "What can we use Spike? I need to make that call."

"She's so bloody well connected it's like…"

"English, Spike."

"Boss, what she gave the SRU was crap compared to what's on this laptop. Get me a name and everything will be at your fingertips. Make your call and keep him talking. I need to find Ed. Not only do I have blueprints, there are heat sensors and look, here's our guy carrying the gun. Look you can see the outline of the gun!"

10 seconds later the phone rang in the grocery store.

"I want a car!"

"This is Sergeant Gregory Parker from the police strategic response unit. Who am I speaking with?"

"I don't care who you are. I want a car. And I want money."

"I can talk to my bosses about the car and money, but what I need from you is the chance for the injured mother to live. Is there any way we can talk about getting her safely out of there?"

"She's fine."

"Have you checked her? Maybe you can tell me if her breathing is laboured or not? Can you do that for me?"

"You – see if she's okay."

Parker waited a few seconds before he heard a hostage say, ""She's bleeding pretty heavy. She's not going to make it unless you get her to the hospital."

"Not my issue. Get me my stuff and then I let her go." With that, the guy hung up.

12 minutes later and it was over. Braelyn managed to keep the other hostages calm and out of the line of fire. She read the manual, and put it into practise. She also managed to keep the guy calm when he cut off communication with Parker. Parker knew that Braelyn managed to save the lives of those hostages today. She was calm, collected, and would not rattle easily. When he saw her sitting in the back of one of the SUV's, he decided to approach her.

"Spike's in love with your programs," Parker said with a very serious face.

Braelyn gave him a brilliant smile. "He would be."

Still with a serious face, Parker said, "You did well in there Braelyn."

"Look at my hands, only shaking a little. When do you think they are going to stop?"

Parker reached out hesitantly and stopped just shy of grabbing her hands. He looked her in the eyes before enclosing his hands around hers. He knew she needed this, and for once, he wasn't going to let his cautious attitude around women consume him. "Better?"

"Not so much. But at least I got you to touch me Gorgeous."

Parker smiled. Her sense of humour was coming back, so she was going to be fine.

"So you can design incredible programs, but you can't carry a tune, huh?"

"Are you saying that I'm a bad singer, Gorgeous?"

"Bad? Cupcake, you're a terrible singer!"

"I guess I am. It was the only thing I could think of at the time. Um…you can let go of my hands now."

Parker honestly hadn't realized he was still holding her hands. He dropped it immediately. "Sorry."

Braelyn noticed how sheepish Parker looked. "Some woman did a number on you huh?"

Parker just looked Braelyn in the eye and didn't answer. He didn't deny or confirm her statement.

As usual, Braelyn brushed it off by flirting and saying, "Parker, you can touch me anytime you want. Now, I'm going to give you a hug. Think you can handle it?"

"Sure. I can handle that."

Braelyn wrapped her arms around Parker's neck and held on for few seconds. She felt him hug her back, and when it was appropriate, she released the tension in her arms. When she pulled back, she couldn't help but say, "Can you handle a kiss?"

"Hitting on the boss, Braelyn?" Spike said as he approached them.

"Spike!" With that, Braelyn let go of Parker and jumped on Spike. He barely had time to catch her, when her legs wrapped around his waist.

"Well, hello to you too!" Spike clung to her as he gently lowered her back onto her two feet. "Where's my kiss?"

"Oh Honey." And with that Spike had no warning as Braelyn grabbed both sides of his face and planted a quick one on him. "Happy?"

Spike looked at Parker, gave him a lopsided grin and said, "I think I'm definitely in love now!"

"Stop kissing members of the team Braelyn," Norm said as he approached them.

"C'mon Normy, you know I only listen to you half the time, so what makes you think I'll listen now. Spike's an attractive guy, he's single –"

"You okay?" Norm asked very concerned about her welfare.

"Sure. You know, I think Sergeant Parker is a better negotiator than you are Normy."

"Really?" Norm Holleran said wryly.

Braelyn looked at Parker and winked. "Spike, honey, what did you do with my laptop?"

"You're too late. I already transferred all of your files to the office. I have them now," and with that Spike took off at a sprint.

Shocked, Braelyn watched him for a full 3 seconds before she said, "Parker, give me your gun."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm pretty sure I can hit Spike and only Spike at this distance. I mean, how hard can it be to aim and shoot that far?"

Parker ignored Braelyn's comment, and said to Holleran, "I let her go today Norm, because of her fear of guns."

"I got your call. Think she's over it?"

"I'll take her back on, if, and this is based on a big if, if she passes a psych exam and does some kind of tactical training."

"Hello!! I'm standing right here. Want to know my opinion?"

"Not interested Cupcake. Be a good girl and stay quite for a few moments," Parker said.

Braelyn's mouth opened and then closed.

"What else?" Holleran stated.

"She meets with Luria once a week for 15 minutes."

"That would do her some good. Okay so she does all of that and then what?" Norm wanted to know.

"She becomes part of the team. She stays in the truck when we're on a call, and if Spike likes the programs, we all get trained on them."

"Deal."

Parker and Holleran shook hands to seal the deal. Then they both looked at Braelyn.

"Wow, testosterone much?"

Holleran and Parker smiled at each other.

"I won't talk with Luria unless I want to Parker. No one does that to me. I'll do all the rest, but Luria is out of the question. If you want to know something, all you have to do is ask. And never call me a girl again, Sergeant. I'm all woman. Now if you'll excuse me, Spike needs to know just how good I am with photoshop and a picture of him posted on the internet."

At that moment, Parker was very glad that he wasn't Spike.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

2 months passed quickly. Parker had yet to have Braelyn do any kind of tactical training, and so Braelyn thought that he had given up that asinine idea. She was wrong.

"Hey Gorgeous. Nice outfit. Saw it yesterday though, and the day before that. And the day before that. Maybe someone should update those uniforms. Add some colour. Maybe a little shape. I mean, the uniform doesn't show off your muscles as much as they could. Of course, they do show off your ass nicely, so I guess there's one good thing about it."

Parker smiled. He would never tire of hearing Braelyn complain about the SRU uniform. Parker turned to Wordy. "And here I thought we were wearing cool pants?"

Wordy puffed up his chest. "We totally have the cool pants. Every cop in the city wants to be us," he said proudly.

"Hey Wordy, what's up?"

"Hand to hand combat training."

"Oh, that's nice," Braelyn said offhand as she glanced back at her computer and continued to read.

"The team is training in about 20 minutes," Wordy continued hoping to catch her interest. Ever since he started dating Shel, Wordy had taught her to protect herself. The training didn't stop once they got married either. Wordy assumed all women would jump at the chance of learning self defence. He was wrong.

"Thaaaaaat's nice, Wordy."

"The whole team," Parker said.

"Well minus Jules. She's at court today boss."

"Right, except Jules."

Braelyn went back to typing on her computer. Windows kept popping up here and there. "Oh, so you guys are going to kick each other's asses and call it training. That's nice."

Parker sighed. Either she was being deliberately ignorant, or she really didn't think that this exercise applied to her. "We are all going to be present Braelyn. That includes you."

Braelyn paused and looked up from her computer screen. "Oh…okay. I guess I can work just as easily where you guys are pummelling one another as I can from here. Let me get my laptop and cord. I think my battery might be dying. Wordy, would you grab the pink laptop please?"

Parker and Wordy exchanged a glance at each other.

"Hand to hand combat is part of SRU training. Wordy is the expert, and you'll be training with him today," Parker said with a smile. He was really enjoying this.

It finally dawned on Braelyn what Parker was telling her. "What? Me? Oh come on. What am I going to need hand to foot combat training for?"

"Hand to hand, Braelyn, and every officer should know what to do to protect themselves. I mean, what happens when we find ourselves without our gun–" Wordy started to say but was cut off.

"Wordy, I'm not an officer. Could you really see me as one? I mean, the whole uniform thing – not my style. And then there's the whole ranking thing, and respecting the order of rank. Besides, I don't even carry a gun. Tell you what, if a bad guy breaks into the truck, I'll hit him on the head with my laptop. Problem solved. Well, except it can't be my pink laptop. That's my favourite one. But I'm sure there are other things that I could use to whack someone over the head with. Why are you two still here? Go away."

"I think she's scared, Wordy."

"I think you're right boss."

"I'm not scared. I'm busy."

"Busy doing what?" Parker was all smiles now.

"I have to paint my nails. See, this colour did not come out as I planned. I wanted a bright purple, and this colour is not bright enough. I have two shades to choose from. Hold on." With that Braelyn grabbed two nail polishes out of her purse and began to shake them. "Now, which one of you is willing to let me test these colours on your nails first?" Parker and Wordy blinked slowly. "Didn't think so, boys. Now shoo." Braelyn made the hand gesture to go away. The two men in front of her didn't budge.

Parker was not going to be deterred. "20 minutes Braelyn, and if you're not with us, I'll personally find you and drag you there," Parker said in his no nonsense voice.

"Promises, promises."

20 minutes later, Braelyn was present wearing silver track pants with a long sleeved, flaming pink top. Spike was looking at her from head to toe, all the while shaking his head.

"What?"

"That's not SRU uniform," Spike commented.

"Of course not. Parker may have the power to make me do this…this…this mouth, foot, arm, leg, combat thingy…but there's no way I'm wearing some shapeless, black and grey, ugly SRU issued uniform. I'll quit if he forces me."

"I heard that," Parker said as he walked in the room.

"So what? It's true." Braelyn put her hands on her hips, daring him to say something.

"C'mon Grayson, let's put you to work before you say anything else incriminating," Wordy said as he grabbed Braelyn by the arm and shoved her a little. He paused, turned and said, "Since Jules is at court today, Parker, Spike and Lewis can work together, and Sam and Eddie can pair up."

"Finally, I get to beat on the old man," Sam said. He ducked quickly as Ed flung his arm, hoping to hit him in the head. "Missed me. Maybe you need to sign up for the senior class, sir?" Sam said laughing.

"Laugh now, Rookie. You'll be sorry in about an hour."

Wordy turned to Braelyn. "First we stretch. Nice and slow. Your muscles need to warm up."

"Stretching is not going to be the problem."

Wordy narrowed his eyes. He didn't want to argue with Braelyn over everything. Her mouth tended to give him a slight headache.

"I'm naturally flexible, Wordy. See." With that Braelyn swung her right leg back, and with her hands caught her leg above her head. She then let go of her leg, bent her body forward so that she touched the ground with her hands, all the while keeping her right leg in the air, raised her left leg and went into a handstand. Braelyn walked around a bit on her hands before bringing her left leg down and through her arms, so that she was doing the splits.

"Told you, stretching is not going to be a problem. Now be the gentleman I know you are and help a lady up." Braelyn extended her hand and Wordy helped her up. Unbeknownst to her, the entire team was watching Braelyn and Wordy.

"Okay Braelyn. I need to know how good you are at defending yourself. I'm going to attack you and I want you to do whatever you would naturally, okay?"

Braelyn nodded.

"Okay, so I'm a big threatening guy," Wordy began.

Braelyn giggled. "You're Wordy. You're a teddy bear who could never hurt a woman."

"Be serious Braelyn." Braelyn nodded again. "So I'm a big threatening guy approaching you. What's the first thing you do?"

"Run," and with that Braelyn made a dash passed Eddie, Sam, Parker and Lewis. She was almost at the door when Spike stepped in front of it breathing quick and laughing. "You sure can run fast, sweetheart."

"I almost made it too. Move." Braelyn jabbed Spike in the chest.

"Yeah, not moving so much. But I like the poke. Kind of reminds me of kindergarten. Hey Lou, want to have a poke war?"

Parker approached the two of them. "Wordy needs to test and train you."

"No hurting my face."

Wordy nodded. "Of course not."

"Or my hands. I need them. Or my legs, I need those too."

"I'm not going to hurt you at all Braelyn."

"Oh…well, why didn't you just say so." Braelyn walked back to where she and Wordy were before she ran.

Wordy watched as Braelyn raised her hands. "Thumb on the outside unless you want it broken."

"Right." Braelyn readjusted her fists. "I'm ready."

"Say 'uncle' if you want to stop at anytime."

Braelyn nodded.

Wordy attacked her. He punched her lightly in the arm and when she tried to punch back, he tapped her leg with his foot. The result was a loud thud as Braelyn hit the floor.

"You're terrible," Wordy commented as he held out his hand to help her up.

"What did you expect? I have 4 brothers. No one would mess with me because they were too afraid of them. I didn't need to learn to fight."

"You have to do better. Again."

Wordy resumed attacking Braelyn for 60 minutes before they finally stopped. He had to give Braelyn marks for trying. However, those were the only marks she received today.

"Times up guys. Go hit the shower. You too Grayson."

"I'm done?"

"For today."

Parker watched as his team left to hit the showers. He wanted to talk with Wordy.

"Well?"

"She's terrible. It's like she has no idea where her hands and legs are. I mean her balance in unbelievable, but she has very little instinct. It's like she's tensing up to get hurt every time I move near her."

"But?" Parker really hoped there was a 'but' to this conversation.

"But I think she can improve. I don't think she'll be anywhere near as good as Jules, you know, for being a woman and all."

"I kind of got that impression myself."

"She works hard though. Never gives up. Her determination will take her a heck of a long way."

"Good."

40 minutes later, when Parker finished his shower and changed into his SRU uniform, he noticed that Braelyn was typing on her computer, still in her pink and grey outfit.

"Too busy painting your nails to shower?" he teased.

Braelyn glanced in his direction with a huge smile on her face. "I've been approved for a gun licence!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you guys for the reviews. I LOVE getting them. **

**Chapter 13**

Parker's eyes shot up. "You've been what?"

"I know, I know. But look right here. See, they've approved me."

Parker looked at the screen. "Did you hack into a secure system? A government system?"

"Hack? Of course not. The information was merely floating out there, and I simply grabbed it."

Parker raised his eyebrows at this statement. As her superior he should report her. However, there probably would be no evidence to back up his claim if he did. Besides, deep down, he knew he couldn't report her.

"What? It's not like I'm going to get caught. But isn't this exciting. I've been approved for a firearm license."

"What kind of firearm?"

"Who cares? It's not like I'm going to get one anyway."

"Come again?" Parker was slightly confused.

"I don't want a gun. I still don't like them. Besides, what do I need one for anyway?"

"Yet you applied for a license?"

"Yes."

"And you're excited to get it, but you're still not actually getting a firearm?"

"That's right."

Parker shook his head. "Must be a woman thing," he teased.

"Since I probably stink from foot and hand combat and am in need of a shower, I am going to let that comment go. But first I have to take these files to Normy." Excited as she was, Braelyn went on her tippy toes, kissed Parker's cheek, and practically skipped in the opposite direction.

As Parker turned, he saw that Spike saw the whole thing.

"What you do?" Spike asked, smiling. Sometimes Spike was like a woman, waiting for any bit of juicy gossip to come his way.

"I'm not entirely sure."

Spike laughed. "She's a whirlwind alright."

An hour later Braelyn was examining her arms in front of the mirror in the girls change room. Jules walked in and Braelyn covered her arms with a long sleeved shirt.

"Hey Jules."

"Hey yourself. Did I miss anything?"

"Nothing interesting happened. Oh, I got this new shampoo and conditioner that you have to try. Did wonders for my hair. I put it by the sink, so help yourself."

"You're such a girl, Braelyn."

"So are you, hidden underneath that man shaped, non-flattering, SRU uniform," Braelyn said with a smile.

Jules laughed. She knew she was just as much of a girl as Braelyn was.

"So what's with the bruises?" Jules said casually.

"I guess you could say that I deserved them. I should have been faster. I'll catch you later Jules." With that, Braelyn exited the girls change room.

Jules was worried, and being who she was, she went straight to Parker. He was chatting with Ed.

"Sarge, can I talk to you for a second."

Parker noticed the seriousness in her question. Ed gave a playful punch to Jules' arm, and said, "Catch you later Jules."

"What's up Jules?"

"It's about Braelyn."

Parker nodded. He had hoped that the two women on the team would get along, but it seemed that something was troubling Jules, and with Braelyn's carefree attitude and Jules' serious one, he had wondered which woman would be the first to approach him. "What about her?"

"She's got bruises all over her arms. Looks like she's been hit. They're fresh too."

Parker sighed. This may or may not be serious. "We had combat training today. They may be from that. Wordy was working her pretty hard." Parker saw the frown appear on Jules' face. "I'll ask her about it Jules. Thanks for telling me though."

"They had better be from training."

Parker couldn't have been more happier at the moment. The fact that Jules was this upset meant that Jules was finally accepting Braelyn as being part of the team. "She's lucky to have you looking out for her Jules."

"Yeah, well, someone needs to look out for the civilian." Even as she said it, Jules couldn't help but smile.

Parker approached Braelyn's desk. She was back to typing things. Half the time Parker didn't know what Norm had her working on. The other half of the time, Parker was sure that she was doing what he need her to do and her own personal stuff at the same time.

"What's up boss?"

"Jules says that you're pretty bruised."

"Did she? Hmm. I must be growing on her."

"Did the bruising come from combat training?"

"Of course, why?"

Parker narrowed his eyes and tightened his lips.

"You don't think…Parker, that's ridiculous. Sure I'm not physically capable of defending myself against a trained SRU operative, but I'm not that weak that I'd let someone beat on me. I have a mouth Parker, and I use it everyday. You think I would let some creep use me like that. I bruise easy Parker. Bruising - it's a bleeding in the skin – caused by blood vessels breaking, which causes the nasty purple hue. Some people are more susceptible to it than others. It's all good, Gorgeous."

Parker was relieved. He didn't want Braelyn, or any other woman, in an abusive relationship.

"I'm glad. I was worried."

"You worry too much."

"Some might say just enough. Can I see them?"

Braelyn stood up and gathered her shirt sleeve. She lifted it just past her elbow.

"Why didn't you say something before we started?" Parker said icily when he saw the damage done to her forearms.

Braelyn folded her shirt back in place. "Like what? I'm not a wimp. Wordy didn't even spare with me that hard and this is what happened. It's always been like that Parker. Besides, you know how sensitive he is about women being hit. What did you think was going to happen if I said something?" By the end of her tirade, Braelyn's voice was getting louder and louder.

Parker realized that she was agitated with something. He was beginning to become angry and his voice rose a little louder. "He's an adult Braelyn. You should have said something. Not only was this careless, it was irresponsible. You put yourself in danger – "

"Me? You were the one that wanted me to do the stupid combat training," Braelyn yelled.

By this time, Wordy, Spike, Ed, Jules and Sam were approaching the commotion. They had never seen Braelyn get angry before. For that matter, they had never seen Parker get that upset so quickly.

"I was merely obliging my superior, sir!" Braelyn said sarcastically.

"Do you think me that callus that I would purposely make you do something that would leave you badly bruised?" Parker forced himself to remain calm. It was barely working.

"Of course not! Wasn't this in my file!" Braelyn continued to yell.

"Of course not! I'm your boss, Braelyn, you should have told me that you had a medical condition - "

"It's not a condition. There's no bloody diagnosis for it. It just happens…so bugger off!" She turned to walk away, but Parker grabbed her by the arm.

Braelyn buckled to the floor. "Let go," she whispered.

Parker bent over Braelyn and helped her to her feet. "Let's go to the briefing room," he whispered gently.

Once in the briefing room, Braelyn felt like a fool. "I'm not going to apologize for yelling! It's how I felt."

Parker nodded his head. He didn't think she would apologize. It wasn't in her nature to apologize. "I get it. I'd yell too if I were in your position. Did yelling help you feel better?"

Braelyn knew that Parker was using his negotiating skills on her. "I don't get what the big deal is Parker."

"The big deal is that bruising can be a sign of internal bleeding."

"I know all of this. Parker, the bruising isn't that bad. They're just a light brown. There not even purple. I put ice on them immediately. That's why I didn't have a shower straight away. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. My brother's tried to teach me to fight when I was younger."

"I thought we agreed not to lie to each other. I've read your file. You're an only child."

"How ignorant of you to assume that blood is the only way to define family, Sergeant." Braelyn crossed her arms in front of her.

Realizing he had made a fool of himself, Parker apologized. "I'm sorry. I meant no offense."

Braelyn sighed. "I know Parker. You're one of the good guys."

"So what do we do about your bruising?"


	14. Chapter 14

**So, I'm trying to move the Parker/Braelyn relationship along, and these two seem to be taking their sweet ole time!! Anyway, thanks for the reviews and hope you guys like this chapter.**

**Chapter 14**

Parker and Braelyn both agreed that it would be best if Braelyn always worked with Wordy, as he was the martial arts expert and knew how to control his body movements and strength. However, it was also pointed out that Braelyn should always be wearing extra padding when training. Braelyn didn't see the point in getting the training at all. It's not like she would be wearing padding when she was walking around outside. Parker insisted on the training. Braelyn relented. At least she never questioned him about wearing a bulletproof vest when all she did was sit in the truck.

Parker did not look forward to telling the team what was wrong with Braelyn. He called the team, minus Braelyn, who was thankfully tinkering with something on her computer, to the briefing room.

"We have a slight problem. Braelyn is covered in bruises from combat training we did today."

As soon as the words were out of Parker's mouth, Wordy had a look on his face that could only be described as horrified. Parker had wished that Wordy wouldn't take it so personally or so hard, but by the looks of it, he was.

"I hit a woman. I hurt her."

"No, you were training her Mr. Wordsworth. There's a difference and she knows it. She's fine. She just suffers from bruising easily. Apparently she knew this beforehand and decided not to tell me."

"Why would she do something stupid like that?" Ed said.

"I think she wants to fit in with the team. This was the first SRU team building exercise we've done. She probably felt compelled to do a good job. We all saw her. She's terrible at defending herself, but she didn't give up."

Wordy was half-listening. Compelled, he got up and went to exit the briefing room.

"Where are you going, Wordy?" Parker asked even though he knew where Wordy would be going.

"I'm going to talk to that," he pointed at Braelyn, "foolish woman."

Parker nodded his head. Wordy exited the room and took off in the direction of the men's change room. Parker continued with briefing his team on what was going to happen for the rest of the day. Not 5 minutes later, Wordy was back, with a SRU shirt in hand. Parker and the rest of the team watched as words were exchanged, Braelyn laughed, and Wordy handed her the uniform top. He pointed to something on the sleeve, puffed up his chest, narrowed his eyes, flailed his hands in a big gesture, and then crossed his arms in front of him as if waiting for a response.

"I hope that's not what won Shel over, because seriously, that cave man thing doesn't work too well with women. I've tried it" Spike commented.

"What's he doing?" Sam asked.

"Working things out with Braelyn," Parker said.

"Shouldn't we be eavesdropping by now? I mean, we can't even hear what's going on. Look, they're hugging. Or at least Braelyn is hugging Wordy," Sam pointed out.

"Awww, Wordy is a big tedding bear," Spike remarked.

When Wordy was finally released from the hug, he turned to the rest of the team, nodded his head, and turned an interesting shade of red.

Braelyn held up the uniform and folded it into a neat pile. She then blew a kiss to the team, turned around and went back to her computer.

Wordy headed back into the briefing room. "What?"

"You gave her a shirt?" Ed observed.

"Well, Parker said she wanted to be part of the team. The only thing on that shirt is the SRU badge. There's not even a name on it, and it's not like she's ever going to wear it, so she won't be mistaken for one of us. At least this way she knows she's part of the team."

Both Parker and Ed nodded their approval.

"Seriously, if I father any kids they are going to have to be boys. Girls just turn men into…mush," Spike pointed out. Everyone, but Wordy, laughed.

"The number of women you've been with Spike, I'm surprised there aren't a whole flock off little – "

"Lewis, I'm your ride home tonight."

"Right Spike, right."

"Officer Young, you can fill Wordy in on his task for the rest of the day. You're all dismissed," Parker said, calling the briefing to an end. He exited the room first and headed to Braelyn.

"You and Wordy okay?"

"Yeah…look, he gave me my very own shirt. Isn't that cool?"

"I thought you said it was ugly?" Parker picked up the shirt with his hand. Braelyn snatched it away and smacked his hand. Parker's eyes widened.

"Oh, it is ugly. But I'm good with a needle and thread. Wait till you see what I can do with this."

Parker groaned. "You're going to wear the shirt?" He could already imagine what the colourful Braelyn would do to the shirt, and the idea frightened him. Not that the shirt would be ugly, just uniquely Braelyn.

"And be mistaken for one of you guys? No thanks. Besides it's a drab colour. But, it's mine, so I'm happy."

Parker looked at her screen. There were old files popping up. "What are you doing now?"

"Normy wanted me to put together a program that sifted though all of the SRU files and grouped them by situation as best I could. That way, when there are new operatives to be trained, finding information about certain situations and training them on how to handle them, will be easier."

"That makes sense."

"He told me to start with yours. I didn't know you're married and have a kid."

"Divorced."

"Oh…what about your son?"

"What about him?"

"He as gorgeous as you?"

"I don't know Braelyn. I haven't seen him for 7 years." He decided to tell her the truth. If she was going through his files, then she would stumble upon all sorts of personal information he had used in his past SRU cases. He chanced a glance at Braelyn's face, and to his surprise she was teary eyed. Braelyn reached up and gave Parker a hug. Parker hadn't realized just how sensitive she was.

'What was that for?"

"You needed a hug."

"I needed a hug?"

"Yup. I think you need a kiss too."

Parker shook his head from side to side. He decided to bait her. "Only if it's on the lips, Cupcake."

Braelyn leaned in and…


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Braelyn leaned in and that's when the computer beeped. Braelyn turned quickly and got excited.

"Incoming video mail. My favourite kind."

Parker was a little fazed. "Video mail?"

"Sure, Gorgeous. I'm hooked up for all kinds of things."

"Hooked up. Hooked into. Hooked on," came a sultry voice from the monitor.

"Sparky!" Braelyn exclaimed. "Wasn't sure it was going to be you. Saw you trailing me 2 days ago. Did you like the tidbits?"

"Your tidbits weren't exactly easy to decipher Bane."

"That's cuz you suck, Sparky!" Braelyn laughed.

Parker was enjoying the ease with which Braelyn and Sparky talked with one another. "Braelyn?"

"Oh. Sparky, this is Sergeant Gregory Parker of the SRU, and Gorgeous, this is Sparky."

"Sergeant? Strategic Response Unit? I don't talk to you in 5 months and you're sleeping with the enemy?"

'Who's the enemy," Spike asked as he walked by the desk. Although he was reading some papers in his hands, Spike stopped and glanced at the monitor. "Turn that off right now Braelyn!"

"I'm running the feed through an offshore account Spike. I cleanse on the hour, every hour."

"Move over and let me see."

Parker was amazed when Braelyn actually got up and allowed Spike access to her computers.

"You following orders and everything Bane?"

"When the occasion suits me."

Spike started tying on the keyboard. He kept silent for about 30 seconds. "How come you get all the cool toys?"

"Because I know how to have fun with them!"

"Bane?"

"What?"

"You look busy, girl. We'll talk later. I love you."

"I love you too," Braelyn reiterated and she leaned over Spike's shoulder and pressed a button. Then she reached into her purse and pulled out a USB drive. "Want to do the honours, Spike?"

Spike grinned and plugged the drive in. He watched as information, even the cached leftovers, disappeared. He turned to Parker and said, "I love you boss," all the while a twitch was appearing on his lips.

Parker laughed. Spike loved teasing everyone. It was how he dealt with a lot of things. "I love you too, Spike."

"I love you Braelyn," Spike continued.

"Yeah, well, I don't love you."

"How come?"

Braelyn poked him in the chest. Well, the chest area. Spike was wearing a bulletproof vest, so he hardly felt the poke. Braelyn giggled. "You jealous Spike?"

"Me? No. Wait! If I say yes, will you tell me who the guy was?"

Braelyn looked at Parker who was eyeing her with his serious face. She then looked at Spike. He was very curious. "He's my brother, Spike."

"Why the name Sparky?" Parker asked.

"He electrocuted himself, by accident, when we were younger."

"And Bane?" Spike asked. "We're you that much of a nuisance when you were little?"

The smile fell from Braelyn's face. Her lips tensed into a controlled smile. "Well, times up. I have to get going. Spike will you shut down for me. Just save and log off will you?" Braelyn didn't wait for an answer, she just grabbed her purse and left the two men wondering what just happened with the carefree woman they had grown to love.

"Well that was different. Was it something I said?" Spike asked Parker after doing what Braelyn had asked.

"I'm not sure Spike. Don't worry too much over it."

As Braelyn was exiting the building, she was thinking of the past. She was so lost in thought that she didn't see Ed until he spoke.

"Can I walk you to your car?"

Braelyn looked up at him. "Sure Ed."

When they were out in the parking lot, Ed spoke again. "So Greg's a good guy."

Braelyn scrunched up her eyebrows. "I've seen nothing to contradict that statement, handsome."

Ed nodded his head in agreement. "He's had a rough couple of years, but he's pulled through."

"Okaaay. You've obviously have something important to say, Lane. Just spit it out."

"He doesn't need to get involved with the wrong kind of woman, Braelyn."

"Involved? Connect your own dots Lane and be specific. I want to hear you say it. What does this have to do with me?"

Ed just placed his hand on Braelyn's car.

"I saw you almost kiss him back there."

Braelyn laughed. "Wow, this day just keeps getting better and better. You think I'm trying to get in Parker's pants? Interesting idea you propose there Lane. Actually, scratch that. How is what I do with Parker any of your business?"

"Come on Braelyn. You're trouble. You flirt with every man you meet. Even the married ones."

"So I flirt, big deal. Flirting doesn't always lead to trouble. Just because my personality is flirtatious, that doesn't mean I'm trouble."

"Women like you are always trouble for good men. Men like Greg."

"Women like me? Care to elaborate?"

"Greg's got a good job. Steady. He's in the middle of his career and he's pretty high up. Kind of a lucrative prospect for young, unattached women starting out."

Braelyn laughed. "You think I'm a golddigger!!!!! Me? That's a riot, Lane."

"It doesn't matter what I think. Greg's –"

"You're wrong. It does matter. What's wrong with you? I thought we were getting along just fine. Now you pull this crap."

"You trying to tell me that you're not attracted to Greg?"

"Of course I'm attracted to him! He's–"

"30 years older than you?" Ed supplied.

"Actually only 16."

"Do you really think that Greg would start something with you?"

"No. His moral backbone would not allow such an occurrence to take place. So I guess you have nothing to worry about. We good now Lane?"

Ed eyed her carefully and nodded his head.

"Besides Lane, Parker would never fall for someone like me," Braelyn said as she got into her car.

Ed waited until Braelyn was driving off before he said, "I think he already has."


	16. Chapter 16

OMG!! I can't believe that it has taken so long for me to update. Bad me!!! Anyway, i hope there are still people who read flashpoint ff, and that they will remember this story.

**Chapter 16**

Exactly one month later, Parker and Ed walked through the gym area only to see Braelyn make an abrupt turn and head in the opposite direction. This was not the first time that Parker noticed Braelyn and Ed avoiding each other. Earlier in the morning, Ed took the long way to Parker's office, completely bypassing Braelyn's desk. Parker knew he had to intercede. "What's going on between the two of you?"

"What? Nothing."

"C'mon. You've been avoiding her and she's obviously been avoiding you."

"Did you talk to her?"

"No. I'm talking to you."

"Everything's fine boss."

Parker just gave Ed a look that said he didn't believe him. As he turned his head, Parker saw Braelyn peak around the corner. Before she could run away, Parker called out to her. "Is there a specific reason why you're avoiding Ed?"

Braelyn sauntered up to the two men, looked at Ed and wrinkled her nose. "He smells."

"I do not smell," Ed said as he lifted up his right arm and inhaled. "Nope, I smell great today. Maybe you smell." Ed jabbed Braelyn in the shoulder with one finger.

"Do I need to send the two of you to Dr. Luria?" Parker asked.

While Ed groaned, Braelyn just smiled. "Told you so Ed! Now you have to pay up!"

"Exactly what did I miss?"

"I bet Braelyn that if we bugged each other, you would be a mediator between the two of us. She said that you wouldn't try to work things out between the two of us, but threaten us with Luria."

Parker wanted to be angry and happy at the same moment. "You two are bloody ridiculous!"

Ed and Braelyn high fived each other.

"So what was the bet?"

Ed looked at Braelyn, smacked her in the shoulder and said, "You're in deep trouble now, sugar. I told you to change the terms. Try hard not to write this one up will you boss? She's grown on the rest of the team." Ed winked and strolled off.

"What'd you win?"

"Remember when I promised not to lie to you?"

Parker had a very sinking feeling about where this conversation was headed. "I remember."

"Good." Braelyn smiled that 'I've done something naughty smile'.

"Well?"

"Are you going to the Policeman's Ball this year, Gorgeous?"

Parker's lips tightened into a grimace. He knew that Braelyn would eventually tell him what the terms of the bet were. Parker waited a few seconds before answering. "Our team got selected this year so we all have to go Braelyn. One team from each police unit will be present. It's done every year. It's to raise money for charity."

"And when you say 'team', you mean…"

"Yes, Cupcake, you get to come too."

"Formal wear?"

"It's expected."

Braelyn smile widened, if that was possible. "And all of you SRU officers will be in tuxedos?"

Parker couldn't help but smile at the direction Braelyn's mind was heading. "Except Jules," Parker said.

"Oh Gorgeous, I wasn't picturing her in a tux at all. Care to guess who?" Braelyn winked.

"Could it possibly be me?" Spike answered before Parker could. Spike winked at his boss.

Braelyn hooked her arm though Spike's. She then hooked her other arm through Parker's. "It'll be a fun evening."

"When you've been to as many as I have, they all become the same," Parker commented.

"But this year's going to be different." Braelyn unhooked her arms from both men.

"How so?" Parker asked.

"You'll get to dance with me!" With that, Braelyn kissed Parker on the cheek and walked away.

Parker stood very still. He was never sure where he stood with Braelyn. Shaking his head more to himself for thinking along the lines he was than at her behaviour, he slowly exhaled.

"So...someone's got a date for the dance!" Spike said rather loudly.

"You're actually going to bring someone this year, Spike?" Wordy asked. He had snuck up on the two of them so quietly, Parker wondered how much Wordy had heard, and how much he saw.

"Not me. The boss has a date with Braelyn!"

Parker looked at Wordy. Wordy looked at Spike, and when his eyes met Parker's there was concern. "You asked her to the…charity ball?"

It was said with a surprised tone, and Parker could just imagine what was going through Wordy's head. "Don't listen to Spike. He ate a bowl of stupid this morning." Parker punched Spike in the shoulder.

"Stupid? Uh uh, boss. She kissed you."

"She kissed you?" Wordy was shocked.

"On the cheek. Don't look so shocked. Women kiss me all the time," Parker said knowing that they wouldn't believe him. When Wordy and Spike didn't say anything, Parker added, "She kissed Spike on the lips."

"She kissed you! When?"

"Guys, this is not gossip central. This is the SRU. Let's change the subject." Parker was getting more frustrated by the minute.

Just then the sirens went off and over the intercom was heard, "team one, we have a call…"


	17. Chapter 17

WOW! Two chappy's in one night! Yeah me. Hope you enjoy.

**Chapter 17**

"Time for a weigh in boss," Spike said as he, Sam and Wordy, silently approached Parker.

"Wonder who's going to be chubby this time?" Sam said as he poked Wordy. "I saw you eating those cookies your wife made, Mr. Wordsworth. Looks like we'll be dragging your ass around all day!"

"Not my fault that I have more muscles than you," Wordy retorted.

"Muscle? Didn't know muscle jiggled so much Wordy!" Spike teased.

"Alright. Let's suit up guys," Parker said as he put his arm around Spike's neck and gave him a friendly nudge.

15 minutes later they were all suited up, waiting to be weighed in. It was like this once every month.

"I'm just saying, being part of the team, you have to do this," Jules said as she helped Braelyn into her bulletproof vest.

"Oh come on. It's not like I'm going to be the heaviest one here. Why the weigh in anyway. I sit in a truck. Sit. In. A. Truck. What's the worst that can happen?"

"Afraid you can't cut it, Grayson?," Spike teased.

"Can't cut what?"

"We weigh in to see which one of us is the heaviest. Then we drag each other on the ground a couple of times. If you can drag the heaviest teammate, you'll be able to save anyone on this team, from the heaviest to the lightest team member."

Since Braelyn was a good 6 inches taller than Jules, she was a good 25 pounds heavier. She was still, by far, the second lightest on the team. Parker still weighed in at 11 pounds heavier than Wordy, and was still the heaviest.

"No reweigh this time boss," Wordy said.

Parker really had tried to loose those last 11 pounds. He hated being the heaviest guy on the team.

When suited up with the head gear and everything else, Parker got down on the ground.

"All right Grayson, you're up," Wordy instructed.

"This is ridiculous Wordy! He's like a hundred pounds heavier than me!"

"Hey!" Parker said outraged!

"You're going to be a dead weight right? So you'll probably be heavier than those extra 100 pounds!"

"Just move him Grayson," Wordy said. "Oh, and take the heels off."

Braelyn did manage to move Parker, about halfway across the floor space they were using.

"Looks like someone needs to start lifting weights," Ed winked as he said this to Braelyn. The day was definitely looking up. "Maybe you should start training with us more often, Sugar. Then you wouldn't end up being so weak!"

"Again, I'm a woman. Women aren't supposed to drag grown ass men halfway across the room. No offence Gorgeous, but you're heavy!"

"Jules can do it," Sam remarked.

Braelyn put her hands on her hips. "Of course Jules can do it. She's like a supercharged woman. I'm a lowly ordinary one. Sheesh, no wonder there aren't that many women in the SRU. There's just too much testosterone thrown around here."

"I think that's her way of say, 'You're right Ed. I do need to lift weights so I'm not so pathetic'. Right sugar?" Ed said.

Braelyn became instantly annoyed. She tightened her lips, nodded her head once in anger, walked over to pick up her shoes and walked out.

"Well…that was weird," Sam commented. "What's up with her you think?"

Ed was wondering the same thing. Women were complicated. They chose when they took things personally and when to brush things off. It was never a clear line with them. Men were so much clearer as to wear the stood. Either everything bothered them and they were pansies, or nothing bothered them and they were men. At least that was how Ed saw things.

"Should we go after her?" Wordy asked.

"Why, she chose to leave?" Ed said.

"We finish the drill. I'll go talk to her later." Parker said.

True to his word, and hour later Parker approached Braelyn. As usual, she was working on something Holleran had her doing. He was curious about her work. The team had still yet to be trained on any of her programs, but Spike has said that he could probably wing things with her programs.

"You know we're going to have to talk about what happened back there, right."

Braelyn glanced at Parker. "I need your hand," she said as she pointed to a flat scanner of some kind.

Parker obliged. "We all have off days, but back there, that was like a light switch that was thrown off suddenly," Parker continued. The scanner beeped and he removed his hand from it.

"Other hand." Braelyn was distracted.

Parker did the same with his left hand. "I'm going to push through this Braelyn, whether you like it or not."

"Push through what exactly?" The scanner beeped. "Don't move. I'll be back in a few." With that Braelyn got on the ground and went under her desk. She passed Parker her pink laptop. "Hold this."

Parker looked at the laptop in his hands. It was the same one he saw the first day she started working. It had a fancy "A" etched into it. He wondered what the "A" stood for.

"Alright, so I left in a huff. Big deal." Braelyn said as she grabbed her laptop back, plugged it in and turned it on. "See, all better," Braelyn smiled as she said this.

"How is it all better when I don't know what was wrong in the first place?"

"Not that, this." Braelyn pointed at her laptop screen. "Now we're protected. Top of the line. See here, this is where you place any fingerprint to access my desktop and programs. Your password is 'gorgeous' by the way. Kept it simple. Just in case."

Braelyn looked at Parker. He didn't seem to be going away any time soon.

"I hate the word 'pathetic', okay?"

"Why that particular word?"

"Not really wanting to share, Sergeant. Maybe later. Anything else? I need to get Spike to do the same thing with his prints. Then I can start to train you. Well, not so much Spike, he'll probably need to just play, but you, you'll need to be trained."

"Braelyn I really think you need to just sit and talk – "

"You ever get tired of being the voice of reason?"

"Never."

Braelyn chuckled. "I like you Parker. I really do. You're not like the typical, anal retentive leader. You're something else altogether."

"I'm sure there's a compliment in there somewhere…"

Braelyn outwardly sighed. "When I was younger, a man very close to me was often called pathetic by those who supposedly loved him. Today just brought back a vivid memory, that's all."

She had chosen her words carefully, and Parker knew this. "And is this man still in your life?" It was not the question that he was going to ask. In fact Parker knew he didn't have the right to ask such a personal question.

"No. He's…he's just not in my life anymore. What about you? Why is your son not in your life anymore?"

Parker was not expecting that question, but it seemed fair. He just couldn't seem to answer. It was because he failed as a father – that was the reason he didn't want to answer.

Braelyn knew she'd hit a nerve. "I apologise for making you feel cornered boss. It wasn't my intention. Now tell me what kind of tux you're going to wear?"

"Tux?" Keeping up the conversation pace with Braelyn was tiring. One had to be on top the whole time, or you'd become lost.

"It's a tux. I'm renting it. And you, what will you be wearing?"

Braelyn's smile was contagious. "I've narrowed it down to four dresses."

Parker never understood that about women. "Why do you need more than 1 dress?"

"You never ask that question, Sarge. It's like an unwritten rule that women need way more outfits than they can actually wear, and so many shoes that they run out of room to put them," Spike said as he walked by.

"I NEED more than one dress, because I don't know which one I'll wear. Besides, I need to find out what colour Jules' be wearing so we don't wear the same colour or clash!"

"Women." Spike said.

"Yeah well this woman was going to give you full access to her toys first, before anyone else, but now I think I'm going to give you access last."


	18. Chapter 18

So it's been awhile since I've posted. Sorry about that. Here's chapter 18. Hope you guys like it.

**Chapter 18**

Two weeks later Parker got the shock of his life when Braelyn told him that she was collecting on the bet between her and Ed.

"Yeah well, how else was I going to get Lane to teach me to shoot?" Braelyn stated.

Parker looked Braelyn over. "You think you're ready to pick up a gun?"

Braelyn sighed. "I don't know. But I figure this was the best way to get over it."

Parker rubbed his head. "When do you plan on doing this?"

"After shift today. The bet was specific. Not on company time and one hour a day for a week or until he thinks I can shoot the paper thingy."

"Target."

"No, 'target' sounds so animalistic. 'Paper thingy' is my way of compartmentalizing what I'm going to do."

"You don't even own a gun."

"Um…"

"Don't tell me! Please don't tell me!" Parker threw up his hands and pretended to cover his ears.

"Well, you see, Sam was all cute and totally willing to help me. I even got bullets and everything. Oh stop that!" Braelyn said when Parker hung his head, closed his eyes, covered his forehead with his left hand and groaned. "I'm taking baby steps here, so quite messing around!"

"Baby steps? What part of this conversation have you been part of? Baby steps would be touching a gun, then holding it, then…then…A couple months ago you couldn't come within 5 feet of a gun without flinching inwardly and out," Parker said accusingly.

"So?"

"So now you tell me that you bought a gun."

"I never actually said that. You just conferred it from the conversation I apparently wasn't apart of."

"Is this the best time to actually ask to see this gun?" Ed interrupted.

Parker narrowed his eyes as Ed glanced at Braelyn and then at him. "You really going to do this?" he asked.

"Yup. A bet's a bet. Now let's see what the rookie picked out for you."

"It's in my purse." With that, Braelyn went to grab her purse lying underneath her desk on the floor. Before she could grab it, two hands grabbed her arm and stopped her progress. One hand was Parker's, the other's was Lane's. "You know, for two gentlemen of the older persuasion, you guys move awfully fast."

"You're an idiot, you know that!" Ed said, rather rudely, as he released his hold from Braelyn's arm.

"Ed…" Parker started and then stopped.

Ed narrowed his eyes. It was clear that he was angry and as usual, Braelyn wasn't sure what was going through his mind this time.

"Braelyn, I need you to step away from your purse," Parker said calmly.

Braelyn did as she was told and Parker guided her to a spot behind him. He then let go of her arm and bent down to get her purse. Ever so gently he opened her purse and was met with a box. More specifically, a gun box with a latch and key.

"Boss?" Ed asked since he couldn't see over Parker's shoulder.

"She has it in a box, Ed." Parker said as he lifted the box carefully out of the purse. He placed it on the desk and turned towards Braelyn. "I need the key, Braelyn," Parker said as gently as he could. Inside he was fuming.

Braelyn reached into her purse, grabbed her makeup bag, got the key out and handed it to Parker. Parker opened the box and let out a sigh when he saw that the cartridge was not in the gun itself. He quickly checked the chamber and noticed that no bullet was loaded in there as well.

"It wasn't loaded Ed," Parker said.

"Of course it wasn't loaded. You think I'd want the gun to go off in my purse, with me swinging it around sometimes? Oh. That's what you thought I did." Braelyn picked up a ruler that was out on her desk. She then hit Ed on the biceps with it. "I am not an idiot. Take that back!"

Ed chuckled. "A ruler! You whack me with a ruler? Fine, fine. You're not an idiot."

"Where are the bullets Braelyn?" Parker asked because he was curious.

Braelyn rummaged around in her purse some more before producing a box of bullets. Parker and Ed looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"You remember the picture of Spike I photoshopped right?"

Both of the men stopped laughing, but it was clear that Parker still wanted to laugh desperately.

"Cupcake, you do realize that the box you brought here usually stays at your house, right? It's a storage device, not a transportation device," Parker said with all smiles on his face.

"Of course. I wanted to be extra safe, that's all."

"Safe," Parker paused slightly before finishing his sentence. "You're gun is going to be extra safe alright. Do you realize that the box of bullets you bought are blanks?" Immediately after saying that, both Parker and Ed started to laugh again.

"How are you going to shoot someone with blanks, Braelyn? You'd have to be really close to your target for maximum damage." Spike asked as he approached them. He had caught the last part of the conversation and wanted to weigh in on it.

"I'm not planning on shooting anyone. That's why I bought the blanks."

"Then how are you planning on hitting the paper thingy?" Parker asked, a little more serious this time, but still trying to hold in his laughter.

"Paper thingy?" Spike asked.

"Target," Parker supplied. "Braelyn doesn't want to call it that though. It makes it too real."

All three men turned toward Braelyn, waiting for her response.

"I hadn't thought that far ahead," Braelyn admitted sheepishly.

"I take back what I took back earlier. You are an idiot," Ed said laughing.

"Yeah well…well…well…oh fine. I am an idiot. Laugh all you want."

And with that admission, the three men in front of her did laugh.

"What's so funny?" Wordy asked as he walked up to them.

"Walk with me Wordy. I need a favour," Braelyn said quickly as she looped her arm through Wordy's and took him in a new direction.

As Wordy and Braelyn walked away, Parker turned to Ed. "You really going to teach her to shoot?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah. Someone has to, and since you haven't volunteered for the job, boss, I'm thinking she should learn from the best."

Parker didn't answer straight away. He knew that hands down, Ed had the most accurate shot out there, and that was why he was sierra 1 so often. Parker also knew that, as the sergeant leader, it should have been him to approach Braelyn about weapon training.

"Boss, you okay?" Spike asked.

"Yeah Spike, just thinking. Mind if I come watch Ed?"

"I was hoping you'd say that. I think for all her bravado, she'd feel more comfortable if you were there. Come find us after shift. I'll go get some bullets." Ed chuckled to himself.


	19. Chapter 19

WOW! It's been a very long while since I've updated. Hope people are still reading this story. I'm working on the next chapter already. Enjoy.

**Chapter 19**

Braelyn waited patiently outside the men's change room. She had passed Sam on the way and he said that Ed was changing. Fair enough, but how long did it take?

When she heard ruffling, Braelyn got up. "About time!"

"About time for what, sexy?" Spike said.

Braelyn raised an eyebrow. "Sorry Spike, thought you were Ed."

"Oh the disappointment!" Spike said as he covered his hands across his heart and winced as if in pain.

"You should have been made a woman, what with all the drama you go around casting!" Braelyn said as she smiled.

"Drama! Come now, that's a little harsh. Besides, there's no one in the change room but me. Looks like Ed skipped on your little bet." Spike paused just long enough for the information to sink in. "See you later, sexy." Spike leaned in, gave Braelyn a quick kiss on the cheeks and walked off.

Braelyn didn't believe Spike. Ed wouldn't bail on their bet. He was an honourable man. Yet, enough was enough.

"I'm coming in so you better be descent Ed!" Braelyn waited a good five seconds before she walked into the change room. And there stood…

Parker.

Wearing a towel around his waist.

"Wow, you guys do keep in good shape!" Braelyn said as their eyes met.

"Is there a reason you're in here, cupcake?" Parker asked wryly as he quickly went about finding his boxers.

"I'm was looking for Ed, but now I get to look at you. Hmmm. Not a bad trade."

Parker's eyebrows went up. He forced himself not to blush. It was beginning to be difficult. Parker held up his boxers and said, "Do you mind?"

"Mind what exactly?"

Parker's eyes narrowed and his lips took on a very thin, straight line.

"Fine. But come on, it's not like I'm the first woman to see you undressed." Braelyn turned her back. "And it's not like you've got a bad looking body. I mean, sure you're not the youngest member on the team, but – "  
"Really not helping my self esteem."

"But," Braelyn emphasized again, "you've got a great looking body. I'd love to see it all."

Parker sighed to himself. She was incorrigible so he chose to ignore her last statement and went with, "You can turn abound now. Ed's around somewhere. He was just changing before I had a shower. We'll find him."

All of a sudden it was quiet. Parker glanced at Braelyn and was surprised to see her staring at her feet facing him. "Braelyn? You okay?"

Braelyn shook her head a little and looked Parker in the eyes. "Sure Gorgeous. I was just thinking about what you said…you know…you plus shower equals very dirty thoughts!"

Parker laughed as he finished putting his clothes on. "Let's go look for Ed." As he reached his wallet, he noticed it was sitting on a box of bullets.

Braelyn noticed the serious look that crossed Parker's face. "What's up?"

Parker brought down the box of bullets. "Ed left. Looks like it's going to be me teaching you to shoot." Parker watched for any sign of discomfort or disappointment on Braelyn's face. There didn't seem to be any.

"Works for me."

10 minutes later, Parker and Braelyn were at the firing range. Parker had picked an isolated firing room because he didn't want Braelyn spooked by the sounds of gunshots going off from other men and women coming in for practice. So far Braelyn was managing to stay calm. Parker wondered how long that was going to keep up.

Parker loaded her gun and set it down.

"The gun's loaded. You're going to pick it up and keep your fingers off of the trigger."

Braelyn nodded.

"When you fire, you're going to squeeze the trigger, not pull it. There will be the slightest bit of backlash on the gun. Prepare your arm for it. You ready for this?"

Braelyn looked a bit pale, but she nodded. "Baby steps. This is a baby step."

Parker was sure she was talking to herself at the moment.

Braelyn adjusted her ear piece to protect her ears. She then picked up the gun, aimed it at the target and fired.

Nothing happened to the target. She set down the gun, moved the protector off of one ear and looked at Parker.

"You missed the target. Its okay, it happens. How did it feel to fire a gun?"

"Terrified. But next time I'll keep my eyes open."

Parker's mouth fell a little open. "You had your eyes closed?"

Braelyn looked sheepish. "I thought I was allowed to take baby steps!"

"You are, however, you're not allowed to fire and keep your eyes closed."

The second try went better. Braelyn kept her eyes opened and managed to hit the paper. She was so excited!

"I hit it."

Parker saw that Braelyn did manage to nick the very edge of the target paper. "You did. Now aim for the middle."

"I was," Braelyn murmured to herself but Parker heard her.

10 minutes later and the target paper looked like a bad case of connect the dots.

Braelyn put down the gun, turned around and launched herself at Parker. Parker had just removed the ear protectors and barely had time to catch Braelyn as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Parker hunched over a little so that her feet connected to the floor.

"Thank you, Sergeant Gregory Parker. For teaching me to shoot."

Parker didn't know why he did it. He just saw her happy face and wondered what it would be like to kiss her. So he did.

At first she seemed shocked. Parker had his eyes half open and could see the shock registered in her eyes. Then, a second later, Braelyn closed her eyes and deepened the kiss. It was only when Parker heard Braelyn moan did he realize what he was doing. It was as if he was on auto pilot. He grabbed Braelyn's shoulders and pushed her away from him. He could tell she was disorientated. Carefully he eased her arms from his neck and let them fall to her side.

Parker knew he had to get out of there, so he looked at Braelyn once, and left.


End file.
